2 Tufts affiliates plan hospital in the suburbs

Tufts-New England Medical Center and New England Baptist Hospital plan to jointly build a hospital of up to 190 beds in the Boston suburbs, the first new hospital in Massachusetts in more than a quarter-century.

The chief executives of the two hospitals said they want to provide the same level of care in the suburbs that they offer in Boston, while improving their standing in a competitive medical market dominated by Partners HealthCare , the largest hospital and physicians network in New England.

The stand-alone facility could be as large as 500,000 square feet and cost up to $300 million. Hospital executives said they have not settled on a location and will consider several sites. They have met with developers of Westwood Station, a commercial and residential complex proposed near Route 128 and a commuter rail station in Westwood, but said the meeting was only exploratory.

Tufts-New England Medical Center and New England Baptist Hospital, which specializes in bone and joint care, are clinical affiliates of Tufts University School of Medicine.

``In the past, hospitals have asked people in the suburbs to come to them and pay more for parking than the co-pay on their health insurance," said Ellen Zane, Tufts-New England Medical Center chief executive . ``Our view is: Wouldn't it be a good idea to take sophisticated academic medicine and bring it to the people?"

Tufts-New England Medical Center remains committed to the city and serving the population in its Chinatown neighborhood, she added.

That promise did not satisfy Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who abruptly canceled a meeting with Tufts-New England Medical Center and New England Baptist Hospital executives scheduled for yesterday after he learned of their intentions. Menino said other Boston hospitals, including Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, have found ways to expand within the city. Tufts-New England Medical Center and New England Baptist Hospital ``haven't tried, that's their problem," he said. ``Their patients want to be in Boston. They want to be near transportation, near the airport."

City Council president Michael Flaherty struck a more conciliatory tone. ``This is about an institution trying to survive and live in this new healthcare world," he said.

Other academic medical centers have been making inroads into the suburbs for years.

In 1980, Lahey Clinic doctors moved out of Kenmore Square and built their own advanced care hospital in Burlington. Now that facility, the last stand-alone hospital constructed in the state, is bursting at its seams.

Partners HealthCare , the parent corporation for Mass. General and Brigham and Women's , bought community hospitals in Newton and Salem. Mass. General is planning a large outpatient surgery center in Danvers to supplement an outpatient care facility it operates in Waltham, and Brigham and Women's has expanded its affiliation with South Shore Hospital in Weymouth.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center owns a hospital campus in Needham and has an affiliation agreement with Milton Hospital . Children's Hospital Boston opened an outpatient clinic last year on the grounds of the old Waltham Hospital .

Tufts-New England Medical Center and New England Baptist are jumping into the mix with the most ambitious proposal in years, staking much of their future success on the suburbs. Tufts-New England Medical Center would operate 125 to 150 beds at the new facility and New England Baptist would have 30 to 40. Tufts-New England Medical Center has 300 beds in the Chinatown facility and New England Baptist has 100 beds at its campus in the Mission Hill neighborhood.

``If they can export some of their capabilities to a sister site outside of the city, there will be greater efficiency, greater branding, and greater patient volume," said Ellen Lutch Bender , president of Bender Strategies LLC , a healthcare strategy consulting firm in Boston.

Both hospitals are rebounding after suffering serious financial problems during the first half of the decade. In 2002, Tufts-New England Medical Center lost $12.1 million and New England Baptist lost $19.1 million. In 2005, they showed modest profits.

Their approach to growth outside of the city differs from the Partners HealthCare strategy of using community hospitals to bring patients to its downtown teaching hospitals for more advanced medical care.

Zane said the partnership was not formed to compete with community hospitals for lower-level care. She said Tufts-New England Medical Center encourages doctors in its affiliated physicians group, the New England Quality Care Alliance , to refer many patients to local hospitals and send only the most seriously ill patients to Tufts-New England Medical Center.

New England Baptist chief executive Joseph D. Dionisio said he proposed an expansion at its Mission Hill campus two years ago, but did not proceed after being met with opposition from the city and neighborhood residents worried about traffic. Menino said a solution could have been worked out.

Late last year Dionisio met with Zane and broached the idea of a joint venture in the suburbs. ``We couldn't afford to do something on our own in the suburbs, and we needed to identify a partner," Dionisio said.

New England Baptist shares a corporate affiliation with Beth Israel Deaconess, under the CareGroup umbrella. But Dionisio said Beth Israel Deaconess chief executive Paul Levy was not interested in teaming up to develop another suburban facility.

``The Needham hospital already serves the town of Westwood and other surrounding communities," Levy said yesterday. ``Our intention is to expand the capabilities of the Needham hospital, including the orthopedic services there."

Zane and Dionisio said that even though they met with executives from Cabot, Cabot & Forbes , the developer of Westwood Station, they plan to issue a ``request for proposals" before the end of the month. ``We're going to look at Westwood, and we're going to look elsewhere," Dionisio said.

Cabot, Cabot & Forbes would not confirm that it has discussed building a hospital with Tufts-New England Medical Center and New England Baptist.

``We have talked to many medical institutions about their ideas, but we are not working on any specific proposal at this time," said Jay Doherty , president of Cabot, Cabot & Forbes.

Christopher Rowland can be reached at crowland@globe.com; Steve Bailey at bailey@globe.com